Third Parties - Commercial Manager

Base salary: £41,092pa to c.£48,344pa depending on skills and experience. In addition, we offer a flexible benefits fund of 15% which is paid on top of the base salary and is fully pensionable, as well as a range of competitive benefits. HS2 Ltd endeavours to ensure everyone working for us and with us feels included, thrives and achieves their full potential. This means we are positive and inclusive about making adjustments, providing flexible working, encouraging our staff networks to flourish and providing personal and professional development opportunities.

The Third Parties Commercial Manager will manage the negotiation, development and embedding of contractual arrangements with a variety of external third parties, e.g. local authorities, land owners, highways authorities, rail companies. The role will interface with internal customers and external third parties to ensure the functional strategy is effectively delivered. The role is responsible for supporting a Third Parties Senior Commercial Manager to develop and establish strategic partnerships with key stakeholders, building collaborative working relationships and agreements that secure effective joint outcomes and maximise opportunity, while mitigating risk and impacts.

Manage a portfolio of complex and bespoke Commercial Agreements with Third Parties, ensuring alignment with the HS2 Commercial Strategy and overall HS2 objectives, including the delivery of wider benefits. Manage internal stakeholder relationships, ensuring their pipeline of agreements is identified, planned and delivered to the plan. This should include agreeing joint ways of working that maximise opportunities whilst protecting HS2 delivery - cost and programme. Provide subject matter expertise across a portfolio of awarded agreements throughout the agreement life cycle. Provide timely and accurate reports on Commercial Agreements activity. Support the achievement of assurance and governance requirements of all agreements.

• Responsible for the negotiation of assigned portfolio of agreements, developing negotiating strategies and plans, forming and leading negotiation teams to agree all principles.
• Develop agreement principles and provide instruction to legal for drafting.
• Present to boards and committees, as required, in order to secure 'buy-in' and respond to challenge and scrutiny.
• Manage interfaces with Delivery (and other) procurements and with broader CCO directorate, to influence delivery strategies and to ensure requirements of Commercial Agreements are appropriately shared with contractors.
• Lead development and assess commercial models for charging by third party and/or pricing of HS2 services effectively managing risk, complying with Managing Public Money guidelines and driving best value.

• Document Commercial agreement deliverables.
• Embed awarded agreements within relevant business teams, ensuring contract management plans are in place.
• To be accountable for supporting the appropriate response to issues raised with strategic partners regarding opportunities to enhance HS2 scope for regional benefit where feasible to do so.
• To be responsible for collaborating and working with regional organisations to support strategic forums that facilitate discussion and decision making around maximising HS2 as a catalyst for growth, ensuring HS2 representation at these forums as required.
• Actively promote and embed Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in all your work, and support and comply with all organisational initiatives, policies and procedures on EDI.

Skills

• Ability to develop collaborative relationships, influence and build trust amongst stakeholders and communities exercising diplomacy at every stage.
• Ability to lead cross-functional negotiation teams in fast paced commercial environments.
• Ability to develop and present contract documents and reports to a variety of audiences.
• Ability to deliver value driven management of commercial relationships with Third Parties.
• Analytical and problem-solving skills in relation to wide-ranging propositions.
• Prioritisation and planning - Able to work to tight deadlines in a calm manner in a fast-moving organisation.
• An ability to be heard through personal credibility and the exercise of sound judgement.
• Communication - Ability to create high quality communications, sometimes with difficult messages to a sensitive audience, be able to network and demonstrate ambassadorial skills.

Type of Experience

• Experience of delivering performance focused collaborative agreements within a commercial environment.
• Experience of procurement and/or commercial management of contracts.
• Commercial expertise to ensure that value for money is secured and demonstrated.
• Sponsor / Stakeholder relationship and management experience.
• Experience of working within communities, devising a strategy and managing the delivery of engagement activities in the public and/or private sectors, on infrastructure projects of similar scale, scope and complexity.
• Experience of delivering projects to budget and quality requirements.

The post-holder is expected to behave at all times in a manner consistent with the HS2 values of Safety, Leadership, Integrity and Respect. It is expected that you will actively promote and embed Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in all your work and support and comply with all organisational initiatives, policies and procedures on EDI.

As HS2 Ltd do not hold a sponsorship license from the Home Office, we are not able to provide sponsorship to any applicant. Applicants must already have the Right to Work in the UK at the time of application and our process involves a Right to Work validation prior to the interview stage. Note, there are certain types of time‑bound visas that we cannot accept. Any offers made to applicants will be subject to satisfactory completion of pre‑employment checks which include Nationality.